By LEVI PULKKINEN, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Hate crime charges were filed Wednesday against a Seattle man accused of berating a taxi driver for his Indian heritage.

According to police, Adam J. Whitney, 23, hailed a Yellow Cab taxi from the University District to Fremont early Sunday morning. When the driver delivered him to 4235 Freemont Ave. N., Whitney ran from the car without paying his $10 fare.

Confronted by the cab driver, Whitney pushed the driver to the ground and punched him twice in the head, according to police. Though several other men on the block offered to pay the fare, Whitney demanded they not do so and began yelling racial epithets at the driver.

"You (expletive) Punjabi, this is America," Whitney said, according to police reports. "Get out of here."

Police say the driver then took shelter in his cab, only to have Whitney begin throwing items at the vehicle and begin kicking the windows. He then fled to a nearby apartment building, where Seattle police arrested him.

Whitney was booked into jail on $20,000 bail but has since been released after posting bond.

Whitney's attorney, Tim Leary, rejected the accusations that his client targeted the cab driver because of his race. Leary said Whitney became angry when the driver refused to take a credit card payment, then, Leary asserts, tried to charge his client twice for the fare.

"Hate crime is such a loaded term," Leary said. "There are things that were inappropriate that he's going to have to answer for ... but this isn't a situation where someone's attacking someone because of his race."

On Wednesday, prosecutors charged Whitney with malicious harassment, the state's hate crime statute, and third-degree theft. If convicted as charged, he faces six to 12 months in jail.